Migrant border crossings rise at Poland-Belarus border

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Polish border service has reported  an uptick in Middle Eastern migrants trying to illegally cross into the European Union at the border of Belarus and Poland. In the past 24 hours, 117 illegal migrants were detained, along with 65 others the previous day. According to the Polish border agency, Belarusian border guards aid migrants in crossing the border to Poland, with most migrants now traveling first to Russia and then taking organized transport to Belarusian cities. Last year, thousands of migrants became stranded at the Belarus-EU border, with Western leaders accusing Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants as pawns to destabilize the bloc. Poland has since built a $330 million wall along its border with Belarus